Save people time
Organizations that win the next decade won't be the ones with the most information. They'll be the ones with the leanest, the ones who treated information waste as seriously as they treated waste on the factory floor.
Lean Information is a movement and methodology for reducing information waste. It is built around four pairs of data quality attributes, each describing the shift from wasteful to lean.
(Inspired by: Huang, K.-T.; Lee, Y.W.; Wang, R., Quality Information and Knowledge, Prentice Hall, 1999, p. 40)
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Information is lean when it is free of waste for its audience.
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Poor quality information wastes time, money, and poses risk.
Wasteful and lean information attributes by LeanInformation.com, licensed under CC By-ND 4.0
The Pillars
You don't need a transformation program. You need three moves, in an order that fits how your organization works:
Lab
Explore the idea. Low commitment, one workshop, see if it fits.
Tools
Employees flag wasteful information in the flow of their work: 1-2 minutes, no training.
Scale
Compounding results. Leaner processes, stronger governance, more loyal customers, AI-ready data as daily practice, not aspiration.
Transferable Skills
Lean information is based on universal principles of information science and lean management. It is applicable to all information and languages – from text and email to documents, presentations, and AI prompts.
Information is lean for its audience when it is:
Relevant
Define the information needed and keep it plain.
Specific
Ensure that it is well named, structured, and designed.
Correct
Ensure that it is well verified and governed.
Complete
Make it inclusive, contextualized, and transferable.
Measurable Results
Some organizations start in the Lab. Others start with Tools. Both roads lead to Scale. You don't have to pick correctly on day one. You just have to start.
Sales proposal submitted
30%
Less text than the original
Company newsletter
to 1800 employees
150hours
Saved per month
Sales proposal accepted
9.3 million USD
+ Customer lifetime value
Better decisions with lean information
Know
-what, -how, -why, -what if
Start Now
Every organization racing toward AI is discovering the same uncomfortable truth. Your models are only as good as the information you feed them. Garbage in, garbage out was cute when it was a slogan. It's less cute when it's your competitive disadvantage.
Excellent Data
Lean information helps build a culture of data quality and AI readiness:
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It is a common vocabulary for Business and IT, and within teams.
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Roughly 60-80% of most organization’s data is internally generated.
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Employees skilled in lean information reduce the need for data cleaning and preprocessing, improving analytics and AI applications.
Lean Processes
'Information' is the overlooked waste of Lean:
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There is waste in processes and in the information that drives them.
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Lean's value stream mapping does not consider information quality.
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Wasteful information affects all of Lean's recognized eight wastes: defects, excess processing, overproduction, etc.
Loyal Customers
Sales and service teams that communicate effectively are more successful:
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Your customers want your information to be lean.
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Your customer relationships deepen seeking quality feedback.
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Delivering lean information is a competitive advantage.
Healthy Workplaces
Structured lean information thinking enhances natural intelligence:
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Symptoms of information overload are eliminated.
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Employees can stay in their flow.
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HR Performance Management can use lean information to improve employee competencies.
Invitation
Think of lean information less as a program to adopt and more as unexplored territory worth a look. One workshop. One pilot team. One answer to the question: How much of your organization's information could be leaner, and what is this costing you? We'd like to help you find out.
Ron Hyams, Principal and Founder of Lean Information
Ron Hyams (LinkedIn profile) developed the Lean Information methodology while improving information quality in organizations. He witnessed first-hand the relationship between information quality and success.
Ron’s industry experience includes re/insurance, pharma, specialty chemicals, media, and technology. His functional experience includes sales, information management, -governance, and -quality.
Ron holds an Executive MBA from the University of
St. Gallen. His scientific paper, Information Quality in Complex Sales, was published by the International Conference on Information Quality, MIT.
Workshops & Talks
Swiss Knowledge Management Forum, Online: June 2026
Brussels Plain Language Experience, November 2025
Plain Language and Lean Information, How to build information quality cultures in AI-driven organizations
Int'l Conference on Knowledge Management, October 2024
World Information Architecture Day, March 2024
Le Congrès SMP (Société suisse de Mgmt de Projet), April 2024
Published work
"Lean Information – Eliminating information waste," June 2024
"Information Quality in Complex Sales," October 2004
Customers
Skills transfer best when information owners stay in control of their information.
Testimonials
Information itself is the most foundational waste of them all.
"... one of the most appreciated lectures in my program.
... received positive feedback long after..."
Dr. Pavel Kraus, Lecturer, Zurich University of Applied Science
"We began by coaching lean information skills for our communication team, specifically to improve our newsletter. Now, I'd like others to have these additional skills."
Perry Perlmutter, President & CEO,
Services for the Underserved, Inc.
"Our facilities manager used lean information to structure his communication more effectively. This benefited everyone."
Markus Gasser, Past Deputy Head, City of Bern Sports Department
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